Trailhead parking or use of the trail requires a permit, pass or other for-pay document
3537 is a 4-pointer right off Marble Mountain Sno-Park, and despite the busy climbing season it is easily possible to get in here and activate it. You might combine this with a summit of nearby LC-075, if you are feeling especially ambitious.
To get here, take I-5 to Woodland, then SR 503 which becomes SR-503 Spur, which turns into NF-90; turn left onto NF-83 and drive 6 miles to Marble Mountain Sno-Park.
NOTE: Conditions on Mt. Hood can change weekly, even daily. Consult up-to-date weather, avalanche, and beta reports.
On March 31st, 2021 I took advantage of a weather window and reasonable avalanche forecast to activate Mt. Hood (W7O/CN-001) via the standard South Side route.
I made an attempt for Evergreen mountain today and the road is still pretty snowed in at least 15 miles from the TH. It gets pretty rough for all but very high clerance vehicles about 20 miles from the TH as well. I wasn't willing to hike 30+ miles today so I turned around.
This was the second activation of LC-001 for both WE7CAT and KL0NP. The first year WE7CAT had just gotten her tech license and was too shy to talk on the radio. The next year she activated it without me with using an Anytone 878 with stock rubber duck antenna and was able to do a S2S with me while I was on Mt. Townsend in the Olympics. This year WE7CAT/AE had just passed her Extra Class exam, and was ready to make contacts.
Shingle Mountain summit is a 5-mile out and back hike located Northeast of Dog Mountain and Augspurger Mountain north of the Columbia River accessed from a national forest road just before reaching the Moss Creek Campground. I marked both “Easy Trail” and “Treacherous Trial” above because like many SOTA summits, you get both on this one. You are rewarded at the top with a very pleasant activation area with a clearing at the summit and a view south.
Bunker Hill is a nicely accessible summit a few miles north of Carson, Washington. The trailhead is an easy drive, and the hike is about 3.6 miles roundtrip and 1300 feet of gain. Note that little of the gain is on the first mile or so of the hike - it's steep later. The hike starts on the Pacific Crest Trail for the first easy half mile or so.
Between October 21 and October 30, 2020, we visited the Sunriver / Bend areas of Oregon. The cold but clear weather allowed us to Activate 8 SOTA summits in 6 outings. This report is one of a series, and deals with the Activation of Burma Rd HP, AKA Point 4,230, W7O/CE-304. Prior to coming to the Bend / Sunriver area, I had contacted Ron, W6PZA, who lives in Bend, Oregon. I had seen on-line that he had been a very consistent Activator in this area, and reached out to him to possibly arrange some joint Activations. Happily,
Between October 21 and October 30, 2020, we visited the Sunriver / Bend areas of Oregon. The cold but clear weather allowed us to Activate 8 SOTA summits in 6 outings. This report is one of a series, and deals with the Activation of Pine Mountain, W7O/CE-058. On the same day, a few hours later, we also Activated Pine Benchmark, W7O/CE-068, which lies approximately 1.6 miles NW of Pine Mountain. That Activation will be subject of separate report.
East Tonga Ridge is best paired with nearby Mt. Sawyer (KG-052). It is quite a bushwhack to get to the summit of East Tonga, but worth it!
The drive in from HWY 2 is very straightforward. I recommend you read WW7D's report for a good description:
http://www.pnwsota.org/node/610
East Crater is a peak in the Indian Heaven wilderness. Three years ago, the south side and ridgeline of East Crater were completely burned by a fire that ended up burning about 500 acres in the area, and this fire caused the evacuation of the entire Indian Heaven wilderness area in September of 2017. Not much has grown back on the south side, while the north side, essentially untouched by the fire, is thick with trees.
